This publication reviews means of access to information contained in the public archives (current administrative documents and archival records) and private archives (manuscripts of personal or family origin) of many countries and makes recommendations for improving access to archival information. Sections describe: (1) the origin and development of the idea of access to archives and trends in archival use by researchers and the general public; (2) the right to information and its limits, covering principles and legal procedures for access to official documents, systems of accessibility and closed periods, categories of documents not freely accessible, limitations on legal access, special clearance procedures, and the ethics of charging for access; (3) material obstacles to access, covering the administration of public access programs, restrictions required for the physical protection of documents, and public awareness of archive contents; (4) diffusion of archival information, covering the removal of documents from storage areas, microfilming and reproducing documents, publication of archives, and copyright issues; and (5) audiovisual and machine readable archives and the archives of international organizations. Appendices present a list of the laws and rules currently in force concerning access to archives in over 100 countries; a 45-item bibliography; and the text of related laws and rules from France, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), the USSR, and the United States. (ESR)